The Fordham Lady Rams headed to the waters of the Cooper River in Camden, NJ last weekend to compete against nearly 50 other colleges and universities in the Knecht Cup.
The first heat for the varsity-eight boat was their best posted time of 6:55.4, which put the Rams second to Bucknell by 13.4 seconds (6:42.8). The first heat for the varsity-B boat posted a time not too far from the A boat at 7:12.1, which put them in second place in their respective heat as well. The varsity-B boat was defeated by a dominating UMass crew; however, they defeated the heavy competition from UConn and Colgate.
The varsity-eight's next race was a step back from where their heat put them with a third place finish (7:00.3). URI and Wisconsin finished first and second, respectively, with final times of 6:52.3 and 6:56.1. The top two boats in this flight went to the Grand Final and the third and fourth place boats were entered into the Petite Final.
The varsity-B boat was also entered into its respective Petite Final after a fourth place finish. The varsity-B crew also lost to URI and Wisconsin, two of the more dominating crews at the weekend's events. The varsity-B squad ended the Petites with a respectable sec-ond-place finish of 7:11.0. The varsity A squad posted a better time but fell through the final ranks in its Petite Final race, finishing fifth with a time of 7:00.3 - its second best time of the day.
Bucknell finished the day with a final posted time of 6:35.2 for a first place finish and the Knecht Cup honors. Fellow Atlantic 10 Conference showings came from University of Rhode Island (third place - 6:47.4) and UMass (sixth place - 6:56.6). Earlier this year, the A-10's nine varsity rowing coaches preseason voting poll placed UMass and URI in a tie for the top spot of the conference.
"We still haven't rowed up to our potential; we know we are one of the strongest crews out there, we just need to get the swing together and learn how to apply the power at the same time," sophomore varsity-8 rower Chelsea Berry said. "The beginning of this week is going to be tough."
"My reaction was very positive," head coach Ted Bonanno said. "The conditions were challenging. It was a windy day with rough waters, but we made the proper adjustments."
2008 Woodie Awards
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